Editing Tytania:Volume 1 Chapter 8 (section)

=== I ===
In his own inner world, there was an inevitability to Fan Hyulick’s resolve to take revenge against Count Arses. But what about those who were accompanying him?

For Miranda, the princess of the Principality of Casabianca, Lira was a former vassal of her. While these circumstances weren’t of any importance to Miranda, Lira was a younger friend and, to use a common expression, like a little sister. She had also worked diligently as an external crew member of the ''Honest Old Man''. Various factors naturally drove Miranda to seek revenge for Lira.

The situation of her husband, Captain Casimir, was almost identical. From the beginning, he was a victim of Tytania and a rebel. He maintained that stance once more, and, as the mild-mannered man he was, didn’t flinch. When Miranda had asked Fan Hyulick to accompany her, she spoke in a firm tone:

“This is also our problem. I keep regretting that I didn’t bring aboard Lira and the others.”

Miranda let out a deep sigh, creating a draught in the air inside the cabin that was different from the air conditioning. She wasn’t omniscient. She couldn’t have foreseen that Count Arses would pursue her in a manner that was unusually relentless and seemed to stem from his excessive rivalry with his elder brother, Zarlisch. In any case, Miranda couldn’t help but feel responsible for Lira’s death.

“What I regret is acting cool and not sleeping with Lira,” muttered Fan Hyulick with a bitter and sour expression that made Miranda hesitate to reply.

The young carrot-top wasn’t enjoying his feigned malice at the moment. If he had slept with her, he would have felt a sense of responsibility for Lira’s life and would have forcefully taken her out of Ementhal. As a result, he would have undoubtedly saved his life. While the feeling of “She’s my woman; I’ll protect her” is, in some sense, an expression of possessiveness from pre-modern times, it could also be a clear confirmation of one’s responsibility.

“That would have been a nuisance for Lira.”

The fact that he understood this showed that Fan Hyulick was mature enough to understand other people’s feelings and perspectives.

If he were ten years younger, he would charge headlong, driven by the passion of youthful exuberance. If he were ten years older, he would be able to act with a wisdom honed from experience and consideration. But at 28 years old, his experience and youthful exuberance were in an ambiguous state. His vision was weakened and clouded with various colours of regret that mingled together.

While Fan Hyulick’s gloominess wasn’t contagious, the ''Honest Old Man'' was undertaking its most lugubrious voyage in the stars in the last ten years.

Aside from Fan Hyulick, there were other passengers on this seasoned ship, one of whom had been until recently clad in Tytania’s grey military uniform. Now, the mere sight of grey clothing was making him tense up. He had been forced into this situation and had only been able to drown his sorrows in alcohol, but he had felt the limits of even that.

“To sum up, as long as Tytania maintains its power, I won’t be able to cash in my savings. Alright, I get it now.”

Lieutenant Mahdi’s voice sounded calm, but deep within his vocal cords a tempest of anger was raging against his unfair fate. In spite of diligently engaging in both legitimate and illegitimate work and accumulating a modest fortune, he had lost it all in a single day. His hard work had not been properly rewarded.

“Humm, that’s fine by me. I’ll just nick 100 million dakars in gold and silver from Tytania’s coffers. Even Tytania should face consequences for robbing honest citizens of their rightful purpose in life.”

“It’s scary how human beings can turn on each other.”

As Miranda sighed, crossing her thick arms, her husband nodded in agreement. Lieutenant Mahdi was the kind of person who would remain unfazed if another person lost 10 million dakars but couldn’t tolerate even half a dakar of loss on his side, making him lose all reason. Indeed, his modest retirement savings had been frozen in an instant by Tytania moving its little finger by a micron. Unless Tytania’s cold wind were blown away, spring would never return to Mahdi’s wallet.

Therefore, Mahdi, with winter in his wallet and midsummer in his heart, had switched to the other side. His cries of “Give me back my money!” were truly a cry for revolution at this moment. For him at least. But whether it would garner universal sympathy was a matter of opinion.

Whatever Mahdi’s decision was, it was of no concern to Fan Hyulick. He was suddenly reflecting on his past. Was there any other choice he could have taken? Probably. It could have lost to Tytania’s fleet like the city’s government had intended. He could have quietly accepted Tytania’s offer and joined their ranks. He could have let himself be captured at Ementhal. But for Fan Hyulick, none of these options were acceptable.

Lira had told him that she loved him. It was undoubtedly a mere pretext. Even if it weren’t, at best she liked him as a human being but didn’t love him as a man. He knew that. Having lived 28 years as a man, he knew that.

But she had risked her life to save him. She had given him a needle gun without any regard for her own life. Fan Hyulick owed his current freedom to her. In that case, his freedom of will and action should be freely given to Lira.

“Hum, I’m still only half a human being. I’m still trying to find meaning in what I’m doing.”

Fan Hyulick’s mind raced as he muttered to himself, trying to device a way to kill Arses before he could escape to Uraniborg.

Walenkov and Pagès were assisting him in his headwork. While they were baffled by Fan Hyulick’s decision to assassinate a Tytanian noble, they didn’t intend to part ways with their former commanding officer. Otherwise, they would have fled to Euria City instead of following Fan Hyulick. They were conformist and relying on powerful personalities, so it was inevitable they wouldn’t see eye to eye with Fan Hyulick.

While they were grumbling stuff like “What a mess, when will we ever find peace and stability?” they were actually keenly gathering and analysing information and getting involved in the planning of operations.

“I love fighting, but I hate dying in battle,” remarked Pagès. “A person who dies can’t participate in the next battle. Since I don’t want to die, I need to read the enemy’s cards as much as I can.”

Through his information analysis, he could decipher some of Count Arses Tytania’s actions. The fact that Count Arses had fled Ementhal and was heading towards Uraniborg and that the four spaceships that departed had taken a separate route had caught Fan Hyulick’s attention. Furthermore, while Tytania had publicly announced that they would dispatch a fleet to protect the count, they made no attempt to ''rendez-vous'' with him.

There was no need for further discussion. Everybody understood that it was a trap designed to lure the “avengers”. Fan Hyulick and his companions, as insignificant as they were, were unacceptable to Tytania. Even a single thorn could drive a giant to his death.

Tytania had consistently eliminated rebels, and the same went for potential rebels. As Clanner Ajman had stated to Jouslain, this thoroughness stemmed from cowardice. But there were two kinds of cowards. Those who could face reality and those who couldn’t. Tytania’s cowardice was the latter. That was why it endured. Like an elderly person that paid no heed to their health.

Four spaceships were travelling from planet Ementhal to Uraniborg, shifting their courses along the way. Aboard which one of these was Count Arses? It was a worthy question in itself, but the fact that they managed to obtain that information was enough to trigger Fan Hyulick’s alarms.

Did Tytania deliberately leak this information? Not simply to trap Fan Hyulick and his companions, but also to use them to eliminate the deviant Count Arses?

After hearing Fan Hyulick’s explanation, Miranda asked the other wise man aboard:

“Doctor Lee, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with Fan Hyulick?”

“That’s a difficult question.”

A truly humble statement. At least for someone like Doctor Lee. Still, it was a frank answer nevertheless. Doctor Lee’s intellectual gaze extended to the Celestial City, a place he had never seen, and tried to discern how the Tytanian leaders perceived the situation and how they were trying to take control of the situation.

The Tytanian mainstream probably wanted Count Arses dead. Tytania didn’t fear internal selection and didn’t tolerate the existence of those unworthy of its name. They might have overlooked his eccentric behaviour in Ementhal, but they apparently were no longer willing to tolerate it.

“It is crucial to understand the power dynamic between Count Arses Tytania and the Tytanian leaders. This will allow us to determine which ship he is on.”

“Correct, Admiral Hyulick.”

Nodded Doctor Lee, a subtle smile forming on his lips. He looked like a teacher gaining confidence in his methods after a struggling pupil achieved a passing mark. The fact that he gave that impression without even intending to was, in its way, a “lack of virtue” that he himself acknowledged.